138!

On Tuesday, Nov. 20, Taylor — a 5'10" biochemistry major from Black River Falls, Wisc. — shattered the NCAA scoring record in a basketball game against Faith Baptist Bible College, of Ankeny, Iowa. Shooting 52 of 108 from the floor, including 27 of 71 from 3-point range, Taylor — a transfer student playing just his third game for Grinnell — scored an astounding 138 points, surpassing the previous NCAA record of 113 points set by Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College in 1954.

The Pioneers’ game ended at 9:45 p.m. Before dawn, the Today Show, ESPN, and Good Morning, America had requested interviews. #JackTaylor was trending wildly on Twitter, and Taylor’s name was the third most popular search term on Google the day before Thanksgiving — ahead of perennial holiday favorites “green bean casserole” and “apple pie.” In fact, searches for both “Jack Taylor” and “Grinnell College” reached a peak search volume on Google, and Web searches for “Grinnell College” reached an all-time high. The Grinnell College website and the Pioneer athletics site experienced unprecedented traffic.

Taylor and his teammates and coaches took it in stride. The day after the game, Taylor went to calculus, with associate professor of mathematics and statistics Royce Wolf, then to introduction to Judaism and Christianity, taught by professor of religious studies Tyler Roberts, then gave nearly 300 interviews to reporters worldwide. “I don’t think reality has set in yet,” he told the Associated Press. “It felt like everything I tossed up was going in.” 

“I’m lucky to have teammates who kept passing me the ball,” he told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel — and “God, who gave me the talent and the opportunity.” Most reporters — including those from three National Public Radio programs, plus CNN and Reuters — noted Grinnell’s academic excellence. 

Predictably, backlash followed. For 20 years, Grinnell has played The System, a fast-paced game that leads to high scores and emphasizes three-point shooting, player participation, and frequent substitutions. Critics have called it “faux basketball” and much worse. 

“The national conversation was … deeply layered,” noted The New York Times, “with many questioning why an individual would attempt so many shots in a game that was clearly not a contest.”

On “The 138 Edition” of Slate’s Hang Up and Listen, associate coach Dave Arseneault ’09 told panelist and National Public Radio journalist Mike Pesca, “It’s unfortunate when people say this is an individual record. I saw the game, I saw the sacrifices that everyone on the team made; it’s a team record. Everyone contributed.” Noting that Grinnell’s location and high academic standards make recruiting difficult, Arseneault says that The System was created after many losing seasons as a way to give students a chance to participate. 

“If we’re going to lose,” he says, “we might as well do so while giving the kids something positive to talk about.” Since “there is no one way that the game of basketball is supposed to be played,” he says, “we found a way to think outside the box and have fun and maximize participation — and if we can do it and win at the same time, then all the better.” Now, the Pioneers are much more competitive; they’ve won five titles since 1996.

While it was fun for all Grinnellians to have the College in the international spotlight for a moment, the media frenzy seems to have had little effect on the team, who celebrated Thanksgiving at the Arseneault family’s house, then practiced as usual on Friday and Saturday. 

The Pioneers returned to Darby three days after the holiday for a fast-paced, physical, high-scoring contest against William Penn University. More than 1,300 people showed up at Darby gym, hoping that lightning would strike twice. It didn’t. Taylor played 17 minutes and scored 21 points, but the Pioneers lost to the Statesmen, 131-116.

“I think it shows just how special that [Tuesday] night was,” a smiling Taylor told ESPN after the game. “That I’m a player with flaws, who can’t go out and score 50, 60, 70, 130 points per game. That I am a good scorer, and I need to continue to improve.”